Welcome to the

Cascadia Seller Solutions Family of Brands

We help your brand succeed online using a variety of Amazon-specific tools and techniques. We optimize listings to increase traffic and conversion, and help you tell your brand story so that customers want to keep coming back. We test your listings and brand store on a variety of devices (mobile and non-mobile) to ensure the experience is consistent and that you are telling the story you want to tell, regardless of device.

In choosing Cascadia, you immediately benefit by expanding your team’s bandwidth and knowledge base without taking on the overhead and headache of managing and training employees on a platform that is ever changing. Our team of 20+ does this every single day, and are uniquely positioned to help you achieve your growth goals with our dedication to continuous improvement of process and procedure. We stay on top of it so you don’t have to!

Our goal is to provide our clients with the highest quality of service based on our 60+ years of collective inside-Amazon experience. We understand the underlying reasons why the Amazon platform changes, so even when it does, we can pivot and volley quickly in order to preserve and protect your investment.

At a high level, or approach for account management includes performing comprehensive research of the products in your catalog which is used to create high quality and high converting detail pages via the described marketing approach following within the proposal. We also provide ongoing Amazon account management with unlimited support in responding to Seller Performance, dealing with Seller Support, building out enhanced brand content, management of sponsored ads, promotions, and more.

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Scope of Services

01

Customer Sentiment Research

The first step is to thoroughly understand your business, your business goals, your customers and their expectations and behavior, and how Amazon factors into all of it.

We also look at the competitive landscape to establish context and benchmarks for how your brand should function on Amazon and then improve on that.

This stage will give us the foundation for moving forward with just the right recommendations for the design and development of your brand story on Amazon.

Once we are armed with this information, we set to work developing customer sentiment documents. These documents research the customer feedback found on your brand, and others, on Amazon.

Customer sentiment refers to both what customers want and what they don’t want in order to best optimize your listing and take advantage of your limited characters and photos on the Amazon detail page.

The documents sketch out features customers are looking for, what kind of photography will do well to tell your brand story, and a basic marketing and advertising plan.

What You Get

A 7-20 page document cataloging the research completed for your product(s) complete with specific questions posed by actual customers

02

Content Development

Next, we review the existing content available on Amazon and/or your website.

Based on how optimization works on Amazon, and with the information gathered through the research phase, we create new content for you.

It is then revised (with your input) as many times as needed until a mutually acceptable final version is completed. There are two types of written content on Amazon: content updated via “Edit Your Listing” under the “Manage Inventory” heading in Seller Central, and Enhanced Brand Content.

EBC is currently only available to Brand-registered Sellers.

What You Get

Detail page with title, bullets, description, keywords, a photography guide, and Enhanced content recommendations, which we then upload to Amazon for you.

Product Marketing

Running regular promotions for holidays in order to drive sales, as well as promotions for Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday

Ongoing listing and (white background) photography needs

04

Catalog Clean-up and Support

Managing your inventory as compared to other sellers who may be violating their distribution agreements by listing their products on Amazon is a constant challenge for many sellers who have brick & mortar contracts.

We support with approaches to limit exposure to chronic discounters, enforce MAPpricing, and if necessary, apply for brand gating. Depending on traffic and sales performance, we may need to create or revise a variation plan, and/or have a merge and execution plan for existing duplicate listings.

We also evaluate the traffic to your catalog and determine how best to increase sales conversion.

What You Get

Customer service blurbs tailored to your company with which to respond to customer feedback

We also create the FeedbackGenius sequence for you and monitor your negative customer reviews

06

In-Stock Planning

How are you doing this year vs last year?

Are you confident you know how much you need to order for next quarter?

Our team is experienced with long term in-stock planning to set clients up for success.

The number one unwritten rule of success on Amazon is remaining in-stock, so you need to make sure that you’re ordering the right amount, particularly if you import your products.

Amazon also has an “Inventory Performance Index” or IPI metric goal regarding inventory turns and we support in maintaining healthy inventory levels to achieve that metric.

What You Get

A detailed quarterly spreadsheet with planning for the next two quarters, on a rolling basis.

On a weekly basis, we also discuss with you Amazon’s recommendations for restock, and our team works with you to manage your Shipping Plans to Amazon.

We also handle reimbursement requests for any shipment receive errors on Amazon’s part.

07

Growth Strategy

A successfully managed Amazon account includes full support and consultation for any/all areas as listed on the Account Management Strategy Mind Map found here.

The tools and strategies we use vary from project to project, as every client has different needs, but our goal is to work through these areas with you, to optimize not just your listings and account, but your Amazon business as a whole.

Our approach is to be your experts when needed, but to help you continue to learn and grow as a company.

We perform all of the tasks necessary to grow your business, and are also willing to teach you and your team to do this for your business, if you so desire.

08

Brand Registry 2.0...and Beyond!

In addition to the product specific aspects of launching on Amazon, we provide you with guidance and recommendations on the best way to position your brand on Amazon.

As a brand, Brand Registry is a key element to your success on Amazon.

You should also ensure that your seller settings, description, etc., are in line with your brand identity and vision for your company.

09

Building Your Storefront

A storefront is the capstone of your Brand Launch, an on-Amazon website/landing page hybrid to feature your brands.

You can highlight products by including videos, great lifestyle images, and written content.

You can also make multiple separate pages to further promote individual products, turn them into on-Amazon landing pages, or feature a selection of products.

Why is this important?

A typical landing page has limited conversion to an actual sale.

However, customers trust Amazon, and when they see a product they’re interested in that is well marketed on Amazon, they’re more likely to take the risk and buy.

Use Case: During a recent experiment, we drove traffic to an Amazon storefront with a FeedbackGenius email campaign and found that, of 50 emails sent, 4 promotional codes were redeemed – an exceptional 8% conversion rate, which is virtually unheard of in email marketing!

What You Get

If it does not yet exist, we build your Storefront for you, with as many pages and basic videography as is necessary to convey the stories and content needed to appropriately market your brands.

Handling customer complaints such as negative return comments and creating new blurbs as needed

Blurb library and customer service training for responding to all types of customer inquiries based on Amazon’s expectations, and training on a performance spreadsheet to protect your brand’s reputation on Amazon

Monthly business review covering sales and defect rates to analyze winners and losers in your catalog

11

Off-Amazon Inventory Management*

*For qualifying clients (based on pre-established revenue criteria), we support set up of off-Amazon ecommerce inventory management for clients using Sellbrite.

This is as close to “set it and forget it” as you can get regarding uploading and standardizing inventory between marketplaces.

As part of our efforts to promote client growth, we support setup in all Amazon Marketplaces globally, and are strongest in policy and regulatory compliance for each of those marketplaces.

We work with reputable translation companies and perform market research to give you solid feedback on whether we think your productwill do well abroad.

What You Get

Set up in the Sellbrite software solution

Listings and consultation support in going global

Setup with an off-Amazon fulfillment 3PL warehouse

12

Off-Amazon Marketing Management*

*For qualifying clients (based on pre-established revenue criteria), we support with off-Amazon marketing management, as needed, in the following areas:

Creation and management of a branded website

Creation of advertisements in Facebook and Google

Ceation of click funnels based on blog or video content on Facebook or your website

Social media management.

All of these efforts are in support of your Amazon business, and are typically coordinated with Storefront content, videos, promotional coupons, and new product launches.

What You Get

An optimized website for off-Amazon e-commerce

Click funnels to drive traffic to your website and Amazon

Social media support

Advertisements on Facebook and Google

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Project Scope Exclusions

note

THIS IS NOT AN EXPECTATION OF ADDITIONAL OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES!

In the spirit of transparency, this is merely an overview of potential costs should your project require one, or more, of the listed solutions, as specialized consulting services such as technical design, as well as costs of external software, and 3rd party-provided services are not included in the proposed scope.

Bindwise tracks all changes to your listings automatically so that you can monitor pricing edits, hijackers, or any other kind of edit activity on your listings. They offer a free starter pack with pricing up to $19 monthly.

Cinematic videography begins around $5000 and can be used for enhanced video content on your storefront. We do not recommend this type of enhanced content on Amazon, as “polished” content does not help customers feel intimately connected to products.

FeedbackGenius offers a 30-day FREE trial, as well as free service for up to 100 emails/month. As you grow, you should anticipate leveling up with their service which is nominally priced around $20-250+.

Google Ads (starting at $300/mo) is used for determining what keywords drive traffic to your website. This data is then used to drive a remarketing advertising strategy.

Ignite, an automated Amazon ads management tool by Seller Labs, ranges from $49-149 monthly and isutilized to automate bids and campaign budgets after ads have been created.

Sellbrite, starting at $150 monthly, is used for off-Amazon listing support and inventory management.

Social media marketing campaigns begin at $1000 monthly; average is $1,500 monthly.

Web hosting services such as Siteground and WordPress, or Shopify ranges from $50 annually to $79+ monthly. This is used for creating a web presence to learn more about your customers and their behaviors.

Zendesk (Customer Service management software) is recommended for automating customer responses in order to keep your response rate low. Costs range from $12-50 monthly depending on chosen provider and level of service.

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How We Gauge Success

success

Our Criteria

We look at three areas of key performance indicators (KPIs) for determining success with selling on Amazon:

Ads

Traffic

Conversions

For ads, we evaluate search terms, what is purchased instead of the items that were advertised (other ASINs report), and campaign performance elements such as click-through rate, ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales), and overall conversion rates for advertised products.

ACoS = ad spend ÷ sales

We aim for 4-15% ACoS on mature listings and ads. A listing is considered mature when it has reached at least 17 reviews and has full, enhanced brand content added.

We expect 100% ACoS on new products until maturation (typically 33-50% of sales are a direct result of advertising upon launch).

Traffic and conversion are discussed in greater detail below. Greater traffic means more eyes on your products, greater conversion means more people who look and then buy.

It is far easier to double your sales by doubling your conversion rate than to increase traffic.

We provide you with monthly reports to track your progress against ours and your targets.

Each category target varies, and we share that information with you in order to align our goals.

Amazon can be an amazingly successful platform for many companies, but it can also be frustratingly complex and wastefully expensive if you are unsure what to do. We want you to rest easy knowing that you have an experienced team behind you and working for you.

Whatever your situation, we are on your side; an extension of your business for the duration of our engagement.

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Timeframe

what to expect

Getting Started

Upon acceptance of the proposal and payment of the onboarding fee, we are prepared to begin the project kickoff process immediately.

You can expect the initial kickoff call with your Project Manager within seven (7) business days from the time your project has been set up in Teamwork and a preliminary strategy has been established.

Although we begin with comprehensive research, various phases of the account management process flow simultaneously depending on when we receive feedback from you/yours at each milestone.

Please note that projects involving movement of listings from Vendor Central to Seller Central can take extra time due to Amazon’s catalog management policies.

how we operate

Check-in Schedule

We would expect to have a designated primary point of contact for check-in calls, and to act as decision maker on behalf of your company/brand throughout the project.

For example, proposals of marketing text, visual images, or other content will require feedback and approval from you/yours.

These check-in calls are included in the account management service as a means of ensuring all parties are on the same page and effectively working toward mutual goals.

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The Cascadia Difference

why work with us

We're all about the experience.

We get it – everybody is an internet marketing expert! But are they continually exploring and perfecting new and unknown techniques that benefit you immediately and directly? At Cascadia Seller Solutions, we never stop learning and experimenting with what works in an online context; “old school” marketing tactics and schemes simply do not give you the competitive edge in e-Commerce.

For example, did you know that Amazon recently (2018) added social media promotions for sellers?

“What does this mean for me and my brand?” you may ask.

Well, the classic problem with Facebook marketing is knowing if it really works. It is impossible to learn which off-Amazon ads created traffic to your Amazon listings that actually converted, because Amazon does not tell you where the traffic iscoming from. With social media promotions, you can use a custom URL for each version of the ads you m ke so that you can test exactly which images and copy convert…which allows you to put your hard earned advertising dollars toward the high converting ads!

At Cascadia Seller Solutions, we are all about the experience. We work with you to make your brand the most successful brand in its niche; never taking on more than one client in a specific niche.

We do this by listening to you, understanding your target audience, and putting our extensive online knowledge to work for you on a plan that will improve your business goals and change the way you think about the potential of Amazon.

We know what Amazon shoppers want because we built the tools Amazon uses to be successful in sellingits own brands.

We know what Amazon expects of sellers because we wrote the protocols, launched the processes, and managed the teams that Amazon currently employs when taking enforcement action against sellers.

We know Amazon because we lived and breathed Amazon – over 60 years of collective experience working at Amazon, as well as other Fortune 500 companies such as the Home Depot, Williams-Sonoma, Costco, and Target. Members of our team specialize in global sourcing, product compliance, logistics, Private Label development, Seller Performance compliance and policy, and Amazon marketing…just to name a few.

We are all passionately committed to SMB growth and helping our clients achieve their goals on (and off) Amazon!

Our Leadership Team

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Our Philosophy

values

Everyone deserves a living wage.

Our values at Cascadia are what make us who we are. Many companies in this space charge high fees, but employ low-cost administrative assistants in India or the Philippines, just like Amazon does.

Our core team is located throughout the US, working in Hawaii and Washington primarily, and make a living wage to support their families. Additionally, we have an operations team in Tennessee, to keep your costs low but keep true to our commitment to US small business.

Our merchandising and sourcing team is based in South China and they make greater than market rate and are also able to work virtually and spend time with their families.

The fast-paced global economy has left many talented and capable workers behind; internet-based businesses make it possible to utilize those talents in new and innovative ways.

We are not just another Amazon marketing agency; we truly care about our team members, and our clients because we succeed when YOU succeed.

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How Amazon Works

01

Traffic

By increasing traffic to your listings through sponsored ads, more customers will come to see your products as they are searching for their desired items on Amazon. According to an AdWeek study from 2014, only 30% of customers clicked past the first page of results. By the fourth page, less than 10% of shoppers remain. Getting onto the first page is the simplest way to increase traffic, and sponsored ads allows you to bid for that space and get noticed.

02

Conversion

Once customers land on your page, they need to understand why they should buy it. In fact, studies show you only have 2-5 seconds to grab their attention!

Having great photos, a clear feature benefit statement in your bullet points, and good star ratings (4+ stars is the goal) allows customers to feel comfortable with buying your products. Methods to increase conversion include improved images, making bullets and keywords more human friendly (SEO-friendly covered in the Traffic section), and increasing review rates through effective, proprietary (compliant) review solicitation methods.

03

Brand Management

Brand management on the seller side includes: packaging, customer service, and in-stock management.

Poor packaging leads to customer complaints and negative reviews. Having unclear returns policies or refusing returns also leads to customer complaints and negative reviews. Having a coherent customer service strategy is imperative on a platform as customer centric as Amazon. Lastly, to maintain the value of the work that’s been put in for traffic and conversion, which increases your ranking in a particular category, you need to remain in-stock on your inventory. Amazon charges long term storage fees twice a year and can get backed up 3-4 weeks at receive during busy times of year like Q4, so brands need to ensure there is minimum 3-4 weeks of cover for inventory that has been invested in, or sales rank could be lost. What sales rank gains you is a place on the first page of search results without paying for a sponsored ad.

04

Performance

We stay on top of the Seller Central account through daily monitoring and feedback. Solving issues proactively and as they occur is essential to not getting derailed during the critical early phases of launch.

Sellers on Amazon are held to strict performance standards. Only items in-stock should be offered for sale, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is preferred so that on-time shipment goals can be met, and all customer complaints must be taken seriously and investigated. Not meeting operational performance metrics can result in warnings or suspension of the account, so we are diligent in managing this with you.

We are experts in factory sourcing, compliance, and logistics, and will ensure you provide safe, compliant product with good cost structure.

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Next Steps

note

Here's how to move forward...

Please read the mutual Non-disclosure and Consulting Services Agreement to ensure you understand all the details involved with us working together. It is important to us that everything is transparent and understood from the beginning so that we lay a solid foundation for a successful working relationship.

If you have any questions at all, please let us know. We are committed to finding the best way to work together and are happy to clarify any points that are unclear. If you have a request that is off-menu, please include this in your quotation request.

Once you feel confident in moving forward, please request the quotation for your project choice below.

When you receive your quotation, you can then decide whether to move forward.

Once you’ve accepted, the Onboarding Fee can be paid swiftly and securely online.

For support plans involving revenue share or commission, a credit card authorization form will be sent to you from Rachel Johnson via DocuSign for signature.

Upon confirmation of signatures and initial payment received, we will set up and kick off your project in Teamwork, and your project manager will contact you to schedule your kickoff call.

If you would like to speak to us by phone, please call (206) 202-4012.